Energy

In our region, the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline has aroused controversy. So has another proposed natural gas line through Southwestern Virginia. A new study takes a look at local costs of the pipeline that would stretch from West Virginia to a compressor station in southern Virginia.

The gas companies behind the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline have estimated it would cost $3.5 billion to construct the 42-inch-wide pipe through eight counties along the Virginia/ West Virginia border.

On Wednesday, Dominion will hold its annual meeting, and some observers expect fireworks, as activist shareholders propose changes in the way the company is run. The push for more green power was launched by one woman who’s been crusading for years.

This week, a delegation from England is touring Virginia and North Carolina, learning more about wood from area forests being used to fuel power plants in the UK. The European Union considers wood to be a sustainable energy source and gives countries credit for using it instead of coal, but critics here in Virginia say that’s a big mistake.

The quest for clean, sustainable energy has scientists testing new ways to produce it. One approach is to look for savings in energy that’s currently being wasted. Researchers at Virginia Tech have come up with a new way to literally transform some of that waste into electricity.

The President’s Clean Power Plan put on hold by the Supreme Court is something many in Virginia have supported. It directed states to craft their own plans to combat global warming under EPA guidelines. Some say, ‘plan or no plan,’ the move to cut greenhouse gas emissions already underway will continue regardless.